Chicken coop



A. CAREY CJHICKEN- COOP July 15, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed sept. 2a. 1953 Fig.

Abnr Carey HyVENToR. BY I n w n v Ammqs July 15, 1958 A. CAREY 2,843,284

CHICKEN COOP Filed Sept. 28. 1953 y Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 40 30 35 I4 l V/`3|2I i l m 22 /4 )36 3 26 /2 C F l g. 4 H f 24 Abner Carey JNVENTOR.

United States Patent Oce 2,843,284 Patented July 15, 1958 CHICKEN COOP Abner Carey, Grayville, Ill. Application September 28, 1953, Serial No. 382,609 1 Claim. (C1. 217-36) This invention relates to a chicken coop and more specifically provides a novel construction in a wooden chicken coop.

An object of this invention is to provide a chicken coop having the corners thereof rounded thereby preventing the chickens therein from getting crowded into corners and smothered.

Another object of this invention is to provide a chicken coop having vertical side slats for spacing the top and bottom and a plurality of continuous straps around said slats for providing a rigid structure.

A further object of this invention is to provide a chicken coop having a large opening in the top and a pair of pivotal, slidable and removable closure members for closing the top opening and locking the chickens in the coop.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a `chicken coop having a novel closing means and locking means for said closure.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a chicken coop which is lighter, stronger, easy loading and unloading, easily cleaned, better ventilated and inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the chicken coop of this invention showing the closure means in closed position;

Figure 2 is a transverse top plan section taken substantialy along section line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing details of the wall members and the encircling straps;

Figure 3 is a transverse, longitudinal section taken substantially along section line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing details of the general structure with one of the closing gates in open position and the other of the closing gates in closed position;

Figure 4 is a. transverse, vertical section 'taken substantially along section line 4 4 of Figure 2 showing details of the closing gate and the spring locking means; and,

Figure 5 is a perspective detail view showing one of the closure gates.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, it will be seen that the numeral 1G generally designates a chicken coop used in the transportation of chickens to a suitable market or slaughter house or wherever such a device is required.

The chicken coop has a bottom wall 12, a top 14 and side and end walls 16 and 18. As best seen in Figure 2 and Figure 3 the side and end walls 16 and 18 include an outer strip 20 and an inner strip 22 which are joined together and form vertical slats which are' spaced peripherally about the exterior of the chicken coops. The inner strip 22 is disposed between the inner faces of the top and bottom 12 and 14 and the outer strip 20 is secured to the outer edges of the top and bottom 12 and 14 and the outer ends of the outer strip 2l]` are substantially flush with the outer faces of the top and bottom 12 and 14. It will be noted that the inner strip 22 forms a compression member for rigidly spacing 'the top 14 from the bottom 12. Encircling the periphery of the chicken coop 10 is a plurality of straps 24 which are endless and are secured to the vertical slats by a suitable fastening means and the straps 24 are secured adjacent the remote ends of the slats and adjacent the mid-point of the slats for maintaining the slats in position. As best seen in Figure 3, the bottom 12 is provided with suitable ooring 26 and the remote ends of the top 14 are provided with a portion 28 which is secured to the under face of the top 14 thereby forming a ledge portion. Further, it will be seen that the top member has a large opening with cross members 30 positioned thereacross and spaced slightly downwardly from the upper surface of the top member 14. As best seen in Figure 1, the mid-point of the sides of the opening is provided with notches 32 disposed on opposite sides of said opening and in one of the notches 32 is a leaf spring 34 which in its normal position rests even with the bottom face of the top 14. A pair of closing gates 36, which are identical, are provided with projecting portions 38 at each corner thereof which project on opposite sides of the gates. The gates 36 are each formed of suitable spaced slats and bracing means. The projections 33 form an extension of one of the brace members and it will be seen that one of the brace members 40 is spaced inwardly from its adjacent edge. The size of the gates 36 is substantially equal to the size of the opening in the top 12.

The operation of the device will be readily understood. With the chicken coop resting on a suitable surface and when it is desired 'to place or remove chickens from the interior of the coop, the closing gates 36 may be operated in the following manner with the gate in the closed position as shown in Figure 1. The spring member 34 is depressed and one of the gates 36 is moved longitudinally over the cross members 30 until the projecting portion 38 is in registry with the notches 32 wherein the gate 36 may be pivoted upwardly about an axis substantially along the brace member 40 at the outer edge of the gate 36. When it is desired the gate 36 may be twisted slightly and completely removed from the opening or the gate 36 may be moved downwardly until 'the bottom portion thereof engages the bottom boards 26 of the chicken coop 10. Obviously, only one gate may be closed or opened at the same time as the entrance notches are utilized for both gates 36. When the gate 36 is desirous of being closed from a position shown on the left hand section of Figure 3, the gate 36 is pivoted downwardly until the projecting portions 38 engage the notches 32 and one of Ithe projecting portions 38 rests on the upper surface of the spring member 34 and when the pressure is put on the gate 36 the spring 34 is pushed downwardly and the projecting portion and the gate 36 may be moved longitudinally to move the projecting portion under the sides of the opening in the top 12 thereby locking the gates 36 in closed position.

The various components of this chicken coop are preferably made of wood or wood veneer with the metal spring 34 and suitable nails being the only nails and metal used in its construction. It will be noted that all of the corners are rounded thereby assuring adequate circulation of air for the chickens when 'the chicken coops are placed in a stacked and corner to corner relationship. Further, this rounded construction of the corners prevents the chickens in the coop from crowding in one corner and becoming smothered. The side walls 18 and end walls 16 have the inner strips 22 and the outer strips 20 formed of wood veneer or wood strips secured together in a suitable manner and the encircling straps 24 are made of suitable wood veneer and prior to placing around the chicken coop 10 the strips are steamed and wetted and placed on the chicken coop in a wet condition. As the straps 24 dry, they naturally contract thereby tensioning the chicken coop and forming a taut and rigid structure. Obviously, both of the closing gates 36 may be completely removed giving a large access to interior of the chicken coop 10 wherein `easy and rapid loading and unloading of the chickens into the coop may be carried out. Further, this particular wood or wood veneer construction gives a lighter weight to the chicken coop for easier handling and it will be noted that the chicken coop may be rolled in the nature of a wheel when the coop is empty. The removable tops 36 further provide an easy access for cleaning the coops and depositing suitable straw in the bottom thereof. Further, it should be noted that the side and end walls of this coop construction are integrally formed and this construction prevents the end members from pulling away from the side members as often happens in the individual element construction. Y

From the foregoing, the construction andv operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believe to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications yand changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling withinV the scope of theV ners and spaced from each other by a plurality of spaced vertical slats forming said side and end walls, a strap around said slats adjacent the remote ends thereof, each of said straps being continuous around said rounded corners, each of said vertical slats including a pair of strips with the inside strip being shorter than the outside strip with the inside strip disposed between and abutting the inner faces of said top and bottom and Said outside strip is secured to the outer edges of said top and bottom with the ends of said outside strip substantially flush with the outer faces of said top and bottom, said bottom being void of obstructions on the lower surface thereof, and including flooring boards on the upper surface in abutting engagement with the inner surface of the inner strips adjacent the lower end thereof, said top having ledge forming members on the undersurface thereof for abutting engagement with the inner surface of certain of the inner strips adjacent the upper end thereof.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 175,177 Sheeld Mar. 21, 1876 505,439 Cloyd Sept; 26, 1893 812,090 Rose Feb. 6, 1906 1,056,146 Brown Mar. 18, 1913 1,199,825 Schmitz Oct. 3, 1916 1,211,700 Heald Jan. 9, 1917 1,349,431 ODell Aug. 19, 1920 1,472,159 Farrar Oct. 30, 1923 1,527,694 Mulcahy Feb. 24, 1925 1,884,062 McSweeney Oct. 25, 1932 2,639,473 Aylor May 26, 1953 2,651,815 Aylor Sept. 15, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 637,409 France Jan. 28, 1928 

